Buddy Johnson
Encyclopedia
Not to be confused with Budd Johnson
.
Buddy Johnson (January 10, 1915 – February 9, 1977) was an American
jazz
and New York blues
pianist
and bandleader
, active from the 1930s through the 1960s. His songs were often performed by his sister
Ella Johnson
, most notably "Since I Fell for You
" which later became a jazz standard
.
, South Carolina
, Johnson took piano lessons as a child, and classical music
remained one of his passions. In 1938 he moved to New York
, and the following year toured Europe
with the Cotton Club
Revue, being expelled from Nazi Germany
. Later in 1939 he first recorded
for Decca Records
with his band
, soon afterwards being joined by his sister Ella as vocalist.
By 1941 he had assembled a nine-piece orchestra
, and soon began a series of R&B
and pop
chart
hits
. These included "Let's Beat Out Some Love" (#2 R&B, 1943, with Johnson on vocals), "Baby Don't You Cry" (#3 R&B, 1943, with Warren Evans on vocals), his biggest hit "When My Man Comes Home" (#1 R&B, #18 pop, 1944, with Ella Johnson on vocals), and "They All Say I'm The Biggest Fool" (#5 R&B, 1946, with Arthur Prysock
on vocals). Ella Johnson recorded her version
of "Since I Fell for You" in 1945, but it did not become a major hit until recorded by Lenny Welch
in the early 1960s.
In 1946 Johnson composed a Blues Concerto, which he performed at Carnegie Hall
in 1948. His orchestra remained a major touring attraction through the late 1940s and early 1950s, and continued to record in the jump blues
style with some success on record
on the Mercury
label
like "Hittin' on Me" and "I'm Just Your Fool". Rock and roll
eventually halted Johnson's momentum, but his band (tenor saxophonist
Purvis Henson was a constant presence in the reed section) kept recording for Mercury through 1958, switched to Roulette
the next year, and bowed out with a solitary session for Hy Weiss
's Old Town label
in 1964.
Johnson died, at the age of 62, from a brain tumor
and sickle cell anemia, in 1977 in New York.
magazine
, "but our bread and butter is in the South
. The music I play has a Southern tinge to it. They understand it down there."
Budd Johnson
Not to be confused with Buddy Johnson.Budd Johnson was an American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist who worked extensively with Ben Webster, Benny Goodman, Big Joe Turner, Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday and Earl Hines, among others.-Biography:He initially played...
.
Buddy Johnson (January 10, 1915 – February 9, 1977) was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and New York blues
New York blues
The New York blues is a type of blues music, characterized by significant jazz influences and a more modernized, urban feel than the country blues...
pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
and bandleader
Bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
, active from the 1930s through the 1960s. His songs were often performed by his sister
Sibling
Siblings are people who share at least one parent. A male sibling is called a brother; and a female sibling is called a sister. In most societies throughout the world, siblings usually grow up together and spend a good deal of their childhood socializing with one another...
Ella Johnson
Ella Johnson
Ella Johnson was an American jazz and rhythm and blues vocalist.Born Ella Mae Jackson in Darlington, South Carolina, United States, she joined her brother Buddy Johnson in New York as a teenager, where he was leading a popular band at the Savoy Ballroom...
, most notably "Since I Fell for You
Since I Fell for You
"Since I Fell for You" is a jazz and pop standard. The blues ballad was composed by Buddy Johnson in 1945 and was first popularized by his sister, Ella Johnson, with Buddy Johnson and His Orchestra. The biggest hit version was recorded by Lenny Welch in 1963, reaching number four on the U.S...
" which later became a jazz standard
Jazz standard
Jazz standards are musical compositions which are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive list of jazz standards, and the list of songs deemed to be...
.
Life and career
Born Woodrow Wilson Johnson in DarlingtonDarlington, South Carolina
Darlington is a city in and the county seat of Darlington County, in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is a center for tobacco farming. The population was 6,720 at the 2000 census and is part of the Florence Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, Johnson took piano lessons as a child, and classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
remained one of his passions. In 1938 he moved to New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and the following year toured Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
with the Cotton Club
Cotton Club
The Cotton Club was a famous night club in Harlem, New York City that operated during Prohibition that included jazz music. While the club featured many of the greatest African American entertainers of the era, such as Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, Adelaide Hall, Count Basie, Bessie Smith,...
Revue, being expelled from Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. Later in 1939 he first recorded
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
for Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
with his band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
, soon afterwards being joined by his sister Ella as vocalist.
By 1941 he had assembled a nine-piece orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
, and soon began a series of R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
and pop
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
hits
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
. These included "Let's Beat Out Some Love" (#2 R&B, 1943, with Johnson on vocals), "Baby Don't You Cry" (#3 R&B, 1943, with Warren Evans on vocals), his biggest hit "When My Man Comes Home" (#1 R&B, #18 pop, 1944, with Ella Johnson on vocals), and "They All Say I'm The Biggest Fool" (#5 R&B, 1946, with Arthur Prysock
Arthur Prysock
Arthur Prysock was an American jazz singer best known for his live shows and his baritone influenced by Billy Eckstine....
on vocals). Ella Johnson recorded her version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of "Since I Fell for You" in 1945, but it did not become a major hit until recorded by Lenny Welch
Lenny Welch
Lenny Welch , is an American MOR/pop singer.He was born in New York City on May 31, 1938 . He was raised in Asbury Park, New Jersey. His biggest hit, a cover version of the big band standard "Since I Fell for You," reached number 4 on U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1963...
in the early 1960s.
In 1946 Johnson composed a Blues Concerto, which he performed at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
in 1948. His orchestra remained a major touring attraction through the late 1940s and early 1950s, and continued to record in the jump blues
Jump blues
Jump blues is an up-tempo blues usually played by small groups and featuring horns. It was very popular in the 1940s, and the movement was a precursor to the arrival of rhythm and blues and rock and roll...
style with some success on record
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
on the Mercury
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
like "Hittin' on Me" and "I'm Just Your Fool". Rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
eventually halted Johnson's momentum, but his band (tenor saxophonist
Tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
Purvis Henson was a constant presence in the reed section) kept recording for Mercury through 1958, switched to Roulette
Roulette Records
Roulette Records is an American record label, which was founded in late 1956, by George Goldner, Joe Kolsky, Morris Levy and Phil Khals, with creative control given to producers and songwriters Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore. Levy was appointed as director...
the next year, and bowed out with a solitary session for Hy Weiss
Hy Weiss
-Biography:Born Hyman Y. Weiss in Romania, he was an immigrant to the United States when young and was brought up in the Bronx, New York. He started in the music industry in 1949, setting up Parody Records with his brother Sam....
's Old Town label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
in 1964.
Johnson died, at the age of 62, from a brain tumor
Brain tumor
A brain tumor is an intracranial solid neoplasm, a tumor within the brain or the central spinal canal.Brain tumors include all tumors inside the cranium or in the central spinal canal...
and sickle cell anemia, in 1977 in New York.
Singles
- "Please, Mr. Johnson," Decca, 1941
- "In There," Decca, 1941
- "I'm My Baby's Boy," Decca, 1941
- "Trilon Swing/Southern Exposure," Decca, 1941
- "I Still Love You," Decca, 1944
- "That's the Stuff You Gotta Watch," Decca, 1944
- "Opus Two," Decca, 1945
- "Walk 'Em," Decca, 1945
- "Li'l Dog," Decca, 1947
- "Pullamo," Decca, 1947
- "Shake 'em Up," Decca, 1950
- "Stormy WeatherStormy Weather"Stormy Weather" is a 1933 song written by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler. Ethel Waters first sang it at The Cotton Club night club in Harlem. It has since been covered by artists as diverse as Frank Sinatra, Clodagh Rodgers, and Reigning Sound; but most famously by Lena Horne and Billie Holiday...
," Decca, 1951 - "Am I Blue?," Decca, 1951
- "Till My Baby Comes Back," Decca, 1951
- "Shufflin' and Rollin'," Decca, 1951
Albums
- Rock 'n Roll Stage Show, Mercury/Wing, 1956
- Buddy Johnson Wails, Mercury, 1957
- Swing Me, Mercury, 1958
- Rock and Roll with Buddy Johnson, Mercury/Wing, 1958
- Go Ahead and Rock and Roll, Roulette, 1958
- Buddy and Ella Johnson 1953-64, Bear Family, 1995
- Rockin' n' Rollin' featuring Ella Johnson, Collectables, 1995
- Walk 'Em: Decca Sessions, Ace, 1996
Citation
"Personally, I like classics," Buddy Johnson told Down BeatDown Beat
Down Beat is an American magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois...
magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
, "but our bread and butter is in the South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
. The music I play has a Southern tinge to it. They understand it down there."
See also
- List of jump blues musicians
- List of New York blues musicians
- List of bebop musicians
- List of Mercury Records artists